Penn State quarterback Drew Allar spent the entirety of Saturday’s second half on the sideline with a brace on his left knee. His status for this week’s showdown against Ohio State remains up in the air.
Morry Gash | AP photo
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Penn State plays its biggest game of the year on Saturday. The Nittany Lions likely won’t know who their starting quarterback will be until then.
All eyes will be on Drew Allar during warm-ups at Beaver Stadium on Saturday morning as he deals with an apparent knee injury heading into the showdown between No. 3 Penn State and No. 4 Ohio State.
Lions coach James Franklin labeled Allar as a game-time decision on Monday at his weekly press conference.
Backup Beau Pribula, who played the entire second half against Wisconsin and helped rally the team past the Badgers, figures to get more first-team work than usual this week, regardless. Penn State players have Mondays off and practices for the Buckeyes will begin Tuesday.
“I think (Allar’s) played enough football for us that the timeline will go all the way up to the game, really,” Franklin said. “I do think from a practice perspective, no matter where we’re at on Tuesday, we’re going to have to get both of those guys reps Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s too early to tell at this point.
“We’re going to have to have both guys ready. And you could make the argument all three guys (including true freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer) ready, which is challenging to do in a game week. Had some conversations with (quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien) and (offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki) about that already. But I do think Drew has played enough football that it will go all the way up to game time before we make that decision.”
Allar appeared to get hurt on the final drive of the first half in Madison as he was wrapped up by multiple defenders and was taken down awkwardly.
The junior appeared uncomfortable on the next two plays, ending with a third-down pass that was well off the mark. He went to the locker room before the half ended and returned after the break with a brace on his left knee.
Pribula had some shaky moments early in the third quarter but delivered an otherwise solid performance as the Lions turned a 10-7 deficit into a 28-13 win to remain unbeaten. Pribula finished 11-of-13 passing for 98 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 28 yards on six carries.
After the game, Franklin said keeping Allar on the sideline for the second half wasn’t simply a precautionary move with the Buckeyes on the horizon.
“It was, ‘Is he going to be mobile enough to give us a chance to run the offense the way we want to run the offense?’ ” Franklin told reporters in Madison. “And it really came down to Drew once he came out. I asked him to be very honest, and he just didn’t feel like he was (able to). And even at the end of the half there you saw even throwing was challenging.”
While Allar’s situation commands the most attention, Penn State also suffered injuries to two other key starters at Wisconsin as defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton and right tackle Anthony Donkoh were unable to finish the game.
All three players looked to be dealing with lower-body injuries.
Dennis-Sutton limped off late in the second quarter and tried stretching and riding a stationary bike on the sideline to work through his issue. He tried to return but only played the first defensive snap of the second half before pulling himself out of the game.
Like Allar, Dennis-Sutton is a junior who may be able to go even if he’s unable to practice much this week.
“Same thing (as Drew),” Franklin said. “We’ll go right up to game time to see where we’re at with things. If he’s able to go, he’ll go. But if not, we have, we have a ton of confidence in those other guys as well.
“He’s played a ton of football. He’s super mature, very intelligent. He’s thoughtful. Hard-working. He’s been in the training room the last two days. Every time I’ve gone down there, he’s down there.”
Veterans Amin Vanover and Smith Vilbert saw more snaps with Dennis-Sutton out and both made an impact, getting pressure on quarterback Braedyn Locke and shutting down the Badgers’ run game in the second half.
On the other side of the ball, Donkoh’s injury appears to be different from the one that he suffered at the start of the month against UCLA. On Saturday he exited early in the second quarter and was replaced the rest of the way by former Badger Nolan Rucci.
“We expect to play both (Donkoh and Rucci against the Buckeyes), but it’s too early to say,” Franklin said.
As a redshirt freshman, though, Donkoh may not be given the same leeway as Allar and Dennis-Sutton if he’s forced to miss practice this week.
“I don’t think Anthony’s in the same category of those guys in terms of just the number of games he’s played in,” Franklin said. “He’s really a first-year starter this year. Both Dani and Drew are multi-year starters now. So, it’s a little bit different.”